196 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



the present plan the building is divided the long way through the center by an 

 alley G feet wide, thus leaving 14 feet of pen space on each side which is an ideal 

 length for pens. The pens on the north side of the building are used for boars 

 and the more mature feeder hogs, while those on the south, admitting an abund- 

 ance of sunlight, are used by pigs, younger feeders, and to a limited extent by 

 brood sows and their litters. Each pen has access to yardage enclosed with 

 woven wire except the partitions between the boar yards which are constructed 

 of boards; the outer ends of the boar pens are, however, enclosed with woven 

 wire. The yards are the same width as the pens within and are 16 feet long on 

 the north side of the building and 22 feet on the south side. A pair of platform 

 scales Is located in the alley at the feed room having been set down in the cement 

 flush with the floor; this is one of the most necessary and most used conveniences 

 about the equipment. There are many who prefer that a piggery cut through 

 the center by an alley with pens on both sides, should be placed on a north and 

 south line in order to admit sunshine on one side in the forenoon and on the 

 other in the afternoon. Many of the simplest, most useful and most inexpensive 

 piggeries are long narrow buildings with but one row of-pens; in the use of thiS' 

 form of piggery the pens should invariably face the south. " 



Cj-oss Section of Piggery. — Fig. 2 shows a cross section of the piggery at Ihe 

 section line indicated by A B In Fig. 1. The foundation, as shown by the illu- 

 stration, consists of the stone wall originally placed under the building. Had 

 It been necessary to replace this foundation, concrete would have been used, 

 being easier to build and less costly. The piers on both sides of the alley sup- 

 porting the posts, are constructed of concrete. The entire floor is made of con- 

 crete, and is four Inches thick; the lower three inches consist of coarse gravel 

 seven parts and cement one; the upper inch or top-dressing, consists of sharp 

 sand three parts and cement one. The alley running throu.gh the center of the 

 building its entire length, is six feet wide; this width rather than being a waste 

 of space, is one of the greatest conveniences about the building. An alley placed 

 along one side of a long narrow building need not be so wide but should not be 

 less than four and one-half feet in the clear. Feeding alleys are almost invariably 

 made too narrow. The six-foot alley shown in the illustration is crowned over, 

 being one-half inch higher in the center to insure its being kept perfectly dry, 

 and was given a rough finish to prevent animals from slipping while being 

 driven to and from the weigh scales. A rough finish can be given by brushing 

 the cement lightly with a steel broom after it has been laid and troweled down. 

 The floors of the pens were given a fall of two inches from the alley to the outer 

 doors, but this is not as necessary as was first supposed, the urine being com- 

 pletely absorbed when the pens are cleaned and bedded as frequently as they 

 should be. We consider some fall to the floors desirable, but not more than has 

 been given in this instance; the fall is necessary when the pens have to be 

 flushed out and the whole house given a thorough cleaning and disinfection. Pen 

 floors should also be given a rough finish. 



The partitions are constructed of one and a quarter inch oak boards, the 

 material used for similar purposes in the original fittings. The boards were 

 cut into three foot lengths and placed in an upright position, the bottom ends 

 resting on a two-by-four and the tops capped with similar material. The two-by- 

 fours were not guttered to receive the ends of the upright boards as this would 

 make it difficult to replace one should repairs be needed: the ends of the parti- 

 tion boards are held in place by inch strips nailed on the two-by-fours on both 

 sides. When partition boards are placed on end with the wood fibre in a vertical 

 position, hogs cannot gnaw them so easily as when they are placed in a horizontal 

 position. The partitions are raised three inches above the cement floor to prevent 

 them from rotting quickly and to permit of thorough disinfection and the main- 

 tenance of good sanitary conditions. The raised sill may become dry and can 

 be disinfected, the one on the floor cannot. The objection to the raised sill is 

 that pigs will work manure underneath it and care must be taken to remove this 

 when the pens are cleaned. In order to prevent manure from accumulating under 

 these sills, we are planning to fill this space with concrete by first tacking a board 

 on one side and then filling the space with concrete held tightly in i)lace by a 

 board tacked on the other side until dry. We feel sure that this will remain 

 in place and can be done much more easily than at the time of the floor construc- 

 tion. The two-by-fours forming the partition sills are fastened to posts at each 

 end and are supported between by two pieces of gas pipe set in the cement and 

 resting in holes bored in the wood of the two-by-four above. The top of the parti- 



